Food manufacturers in France are hoping to be the first in Europe to use the high-intensity stevia extract Rebaudioside-A (also known as Reb A and Rebiana), before the rest of continent receives full approval, reported Food Navigator USA. In 2000, the European Commission refused to accept stevia (also known as stevioside) as a novel food or food additive respectively because of a lack of critical scientific reports on stevia and the discrepancies between cited studies with respect to possible toxicological... ...Read more »

Stevia, a sugar substitute with no calories that has been dubbed by some as the ‘holy grail’ of sweeteners, has now been introduced into sports drinks. All Sport and Dr Pepper Snapple Group are launching All Sport Naturally Zero, a zero-calorie sports drink sweetened with rebiana (an all-natural sweetener from stevia) to capitalise on the interest that has swelled in stevia since Pepsi and Coca-Cola announced their intentions to launch products with the ingredient last year. Since then,... ...Read more »

The energy drink market has been growing considerably over the past five years with the success of Red Bull symbolic of the potential of the sector. However, as more competitors enter, the need for product differentiation will continue to increase but the ability to provide an option which varies noticeably from the competition appears limited. Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) has now introduced Venom, a new energy drink into the ever expanding marketplace. DPS, the North American beverage company,... ...Read more »